If you're wanting to start a podcast and you are not sure how to set it up for success from day one, you're in the right place.

Today we're diving into another podcast foundation that is setting up your podcast format and your structure, which is essential before we hit record. 

What is a good structure for a podcast?

There are several ways that we can structure our podcast. 

The most common ways are going to be a solo podcast where it's just you - the host, the other way is a combination of a solo and a guest also known as the interview format.

What are the pros and cons of both? 

Pros of being a solo host:

Being a solo host positions you as the authority figure. 

That is going to put you front and center as the expert in the topics you are talking about.  

However, sometimes you want to have guests on, which is great because when we have a guest on, we can leverage their network as well and that will hopefully bring in new listeners and get them onto your email list.

They will funnel down into your paid offerings, which is the goal. 

When it comes to having a guest episode, I like to see my clients have at least two thirds of their episodes be solo. Versus one third being with guests. 

And why do I not like to see them all be guest episodes? 

This is why!

When you have a guest on every episode, your listeners slowly start to see your guests as the experts in the field and you as an interviewer.

We want to keep you in that expert position with an occasional guest expert.

That's why I like to tell my clients two thirds are solo episodes, one third are guest episodes so that we are always positioning you as the expert on your podcast and in that particular niche.

What is the optimal length for a podcast?

Here's a question I get often from clients that are launching, how long should my episodes be and how often should I have a new episode? 

Let's start with how long should episodes be.

Buzzsprout did a survey which showed that most people enjoy shows that are 20 to 40 minutes long. 

I personally like 20 to 40 minutes because I go for a walk.

My walks are about half an hour. That means for the most part, I can get an entire episode done in my walk.

I like shorter episodes because they just align with my lifestyle. 

If the episode is longer than my walk, I will probably forget to go back to it or I will just start a new episode.

That's why I personally think 20 to 40 minutes is a great time for me and as Buzzsprout's survey showed, for many others too.

That is what we aim for with the majority of my clients, 20 to 40 minutes. 

I have one client that does 15 to 25 minute episodes and they do great for her.

I have one client that her episodes are up to an hour long and for her niche and for her audience that works. 

But for the most part, 20 to 40 minutes is going to be your sweet spot. 

How Frequently Should You Post Your Episodes?

Now we decide on how often you should release an episode? 

Realistically, how often you release an episode should be dependent on how much time you have.

How much time can you dedicate to putting out quality episodes?  Because we want quality over quantity. 

We don't want to sacrifice quality for quantity. The amount of episodes you're going to put out per month is directly going to equate to your bandwidth of what you can reasonably do for great content.

With that being said, most of my clients will release once a week. When you're releasing once a week, it's a consistent strategy. It's keeping you top of mind. It's always going to pop up in your listeners apps because you have a new episode out.  

Releasing your episodes every week makes growing a little bit quicker.

What happens if somebody takes a really long break is that their audience ends up forgetting about them.

If you're only launching one episode a month (which I don't recommend), that is a really long break, an entire month in between episodes, what is going to happen your listeners are going to forget about you

. 

And then you're going to have to start growing your audience again, just to take another month off and that makes growing your audience really hard. 

Usually  when I'm asked this question the answer is: as long as you can handle it - once a week is preferable or twice a month.

I do not ever recommend once a month. 

One client that came to me wanted to launch a podcast. And when we were talking about how often we were going to release the podcast, she asked me what my thoughts were on once a month. And I didn't recommend it. 

But once a week was just too much for her to handle.

So we decided on twice a month and growth will be slower, but it is better than once a month. 

And I was not going to push for once a week because they don't have the bandwidth to put out quality content that frequently.

Like I said, quality over quantity and we want to balance that.

How Should You Structure Your Episode? 

There are several ways you can structure your episode. 

My clients are split on how they do this, reason being it really does come down to personal preference.

Here are some of the ways you can structure your videos:

1. For one client, when I'm editing her audio, I will hear a 15 second clip that's a great hook. I will copy that and put it before her intro. That structures her episode in such a way that it begins with this 15 second hook, after that her intro and then it goes into her episode and the outro at the end. 

2. Another way is your intro,  into your main episode, into your outro. This one does not have a 15 second hook at the beginning.

3. You can record an approximately 30 seconds long summary of what the episode is going to be about. And then summary plays first, after which the episode goes into the intro, then it goes into your main part of your episode, and then your outro. 

Those are the different ways and, one's not better than the other. 

It truly comes down to personal preference.

I have clients that mostly do a hook into their episode or nothing into their intro into their episode.

One way to decide how you want to structure your episode is to listen to your favorite podcasters.

And if you are consistently seeing that they have a hook at the beginning of their episode and you like that because it’s drawing you in, structure your podcast the same way. 

Or if your favorite podcasters have their intro start into their episodes and you like that, structure your podcast like that.

And you are not stuck with anything you have chosen.

If you decide you want to switch up your podcast format, you can switch up your podcast format.

This is not set in stone. You can change your mind.

So just pick something that you think you like and start there. 

So, setting up a successful podcast involves careful planning and execution of its format and structure. By balancing solo and guest episodes, timing your releases strategically, and crafting a compelling episode structure, you’re well on your way to launching a podcast that resonates with your audience.

Don't forget to grab my free resource, launch your podcast roadmap. It's filled with tons of resources, recommendations for microphones, headphones, all of the things that you need to get started and you can grab it at the link above.

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